The Montana Department of Agriculture announced the award of over $1.6 million for the development and implementation of noxious weed management programs. Dave Burch says these management programs have worked hard to eliminate the noxious weed dyer's woad, which is almost under control.

“If dyer's woad was to escape from where we have it right now and get into the cropping systems in Montana, it would be devastating to those areas,” said Burch. “Washington State, those guys are dealing with that because it is in their cropping. Right now we don’t have it in any crops we have known some ranger pastor sites or on a road side, but that’s where we got it confined to right now.”

Burch said that only about 7 counties have dyer's woad, with Missoula being one of them.

“Priority 1A weeds so it’s got the very highest priority and we are trying to eradicate it out of the state,” Burch said. “We in Montana have been very fortunate because of the trust fund and because there are some very dedicated people on the ground putting efforts toward that weed. We are down to counting plants instead of acres now. We have it in seven or eight counties is all.”

Five different Missoula area weed control programs receive funds totaling $98,000. Knap weed was a focus of many of those grants.

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